


take the win

by logictron



Category: The Brave (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Pre-Canon, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-03-17 04:11:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13651164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/logictron/pseuds/logictron
Summary: For the cuddle prompt meme: Jalton, in public.The first mission after Elijah, everyone's a little worried. Dalton keeps Jaz close. But maybe not for the reason he thinks.





	take the win

**Author's Note:**

> It's taken me longer than I thought to get through this prompt but here we go. I started out with an entirely different idea but it wasn't geling so here we are. 
> 
> What else? Um, oh, there is actually a Cheesecake Factory at the mall in Dubai (one of them). Also, case fic is my weakest point by far so there's...only a little bit of that. Enjoy! Comments feed the writing addiction. Kudos don't hurt either. You can always come chat or prompt me on Tumblr!
> 
> stupid-jeans.tumblr.com

The first mission after Elijah was rough. They were still three months from the end of deployment. Whether that felt like a blessing or a curse depended on the day. Today, it was somewhere in between.

A nightclub in Dubai wasn't exactly typical (not that much was for them), and it was making Dalton a little nervous how clear cut things were turning out to be. Like it was too easy.

"You holding up?" Preach asked, eyeing him calmly as they waited for Jaz and McG to join them. Dalton exhaled and inclined his head, squinting.

"Just calculating how much time we're gonna have to spend at the mall when this is all over before heading home," he said, and Preach chuckled.

"I hear they have a Cheesecake Factory."

"Who has cheesecake?" McG asked,rubbing his palms together. "Sounds delicious."

"You would be thinking about food," Jaz snorted.

Dalton's eyes drifted over her, a cursory glance that lingered. He'd been worried about her. They all had. But she'd been leaning on him extra hard lately, and Adam wasn't sure what to make of that.

"Alright," he said, finally looking away. "Here's what we're gonna do."

**

The plan was something they'd pulled off dozens of times: McG and Preach would take up the exits, while Dalton and Jaz tried to get close enough to gather usable intel. The two guys running the trafficking ring they were busting were known for frequenting one of the busiest clubs in the area, plucking up unsuspecting young tourists whenever they could, to mix up the usual flow of Middle Eastern girls, mostly from Afghanistan and Pakistan, who had all but been sold off by family members who needed an extra buck.

"If we can get them to invite us to whatever underground operation they've got going, we'll be golden," Dalton murmured, slipping his arm around Jaz. It was rare he paired the two of them together. She and Vallins had operated as a seamless pair, and he rarely saw a reason to separate them. Now, he felt the need to keep her close.

"Doesn't look like they're here yet," Jaz murmured, casually surveying the other patrons.

"Still a little early. What do you say we do a little dancing?" Dalton nodded toward the relatively crowded dance floor. It kept them from having to commit to a location until they knew the lay of the land a little better.

"I thought you'd never ask," Jaz replied dryly, though her lips quirked as she took his hand and led him onto the floor, turning to face him once they found an empty spot, so they had eyes in both directions.

"Alright, head on a swivel, all of you. Could be one guy, could be both of them. Won't know what we're dealing with til they're here. Already plenty of easy targets," Dalton said.

"You know,when you asked me to dance, I thought that meant you actually _could_ dance," Jaz teased.

Adam let out a surprised chuckle, grateful that work seemed to be bringing her back a little bit. He slid an arm around her waist, his palm flattening against the small of her back, the other splaying over her hip. It had been a long while since he'd done any sort of dancing, but they needed to blend in and him standing there awkwardly wasn't going to help with that.

"I resent the implication that I can't," he murmured back, actually moving now, holding her against him, still scanning the crowd.

"Mmm, better," Jaz decided, smoothing her hands up his chest and over his shoulders.

"They're here," McG's voice piped into his ear and Dalton exhaled through his nose.

"Alright. You sure you're good?" he asked. Jaz had given zero implication she was anything but mission-ready since they'd touched down here, but he felt the need to check.

"Are you?" she challenged, arching her brow with a familiar grin.

"Alright, alright. We're good," he muttered, grinning too.

"Stay frosty," she murmured in his ear, turning against him so they could both watch their two targets. She pressed against him, drawing his arms around her middle and tipping her head back against his shoulder.

"Showtime," Adam murmured, trying not to think too hard about the way she felt in his arms.

**

It took next to no time to catch the attention of the two traffickers. Dalton engaged them easily, joining them at their table with Jaz perched in his lap. He knew it could be difficult for her to play the part of arm candy, especially with these two clowns leering at her and asking more than once if he didn't just want to trade her in, to let them have a turn. But she never once faltered, even when his own hands flexed into her hips, protective instinct and rage boiling up faster than he could tamp down on it.

The guys eventually accepted it was a no-go, but extended an invitation for Dalton to attend a private showing the following evening, promising to send a car to pick him up at his hotel (disclosing the address in advance would be too risky of a move).

After thanking them, Dalton patted Jaz's hip and thanked their tablemates, shaking their hands before ushering Jaz back through the crowd and onto the floor. As badly as he wanted to leave, he knew it would arouse suspicion. So a few more minutes of lingering would certainly benefit them.

"You good?" Jaz asked, looking up at him as she settled against him again.

"Be better when we take them out," he said, forcing himself to look away from them, to focus on Jaz instead.

"You know they're never gonna touch me, right?" she asked.

"Yeah," he agreed after a beat, some tension easing from him as he looked at her. Maybe she hadn't been leaning on him at all. Maybe he'd been leaning on her. "You'd put them both down before I could even draw my gun."

"Damn right," she agreed. "So, you know, next time maybe lighten up a little? Gonna have bruises tomorrow."

Dalton cleared his throat, pushing away the images that spawned in his brain. "Sorry..."

"Buy me a drink by the pool tomorrow and I'll see about forgiving you," she laughed. "We did good."

"So far," Adam allowed.

"Let's chalk up a win while we have one, hm? We can worry about tomorrow tomorrow."

"You know, you're starting to sound like Preach," he laughed.

"There are worse things," Jaz said, meeting his gaze pointedly.

"Don't I know it," Adam sighed. "What do you say we get outta here?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Jaz took his hand and she didn't let go until they got in the car to drive back to the safehouse.

Yeah, Adam thought, he was definitely leaning on her. And he'd have to fix that eventually, but for right now, there were worse things. Tonight was definitely a win.


End file.
